The God of love and peace be with you today.

(Yesterday on the blog: Never Be Discouraged and Never Be a Discourager)
Five Blessings of Marking Up Your Bible
Of course, there’s no rule saying you must mark up your Bible. But if you do, perhaps you’ll experience these blessings.
Creators, Consumers, and Christ: 10 Social Media Resolutions
Aaron Lee: “Whether creating or consuming, Christians can use social media as a tool to steward and leverage well for the glory of God and the good of others. To encourage Christians and especially youth on social media, here are some very practical tips and strategies…”
2 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Evangelizing Muslims
A. S. Ibrahim is such a helpful guide when it comes to sharing the gospel with Muslims. “We are called to bring the gospel of hope to our Muslim neighbors, but there are some mistakes that Christians can make—intentionally or unintentionally—that we should avoid.”
“What if I feel abandoned by God?” (Video)
Sinclair Ferguson answers the question theologically and pastorally.
5 Things at the Heart of a Pastoral Visit
Pastoral visitation is such a blessing to pastor and parishioner alike. Andrew Roycroft offers a few principles that may help those who are receiving a visit. “Not everyone who is engaged in pastoral visitation is an ordained Pastor,” he clarifies, “and so this post shares more widely about those men and women gifted for and engaged in caring for God’s people (as well as those in full time Pastoral ministry).”
Cultural Contamination and Scripture’s Emphases
“Among the many forces that shape contemporary missions, fear of cultural contamination looms large. Missionaries, and Western missionaries in particular, often feel and express a deep aversion to passing on aspects of their own culture to those that they reach through their ministry.” This is a helpful reflection on the matter.
Flashback: Our Understanding of Earth and Our Assumptions of Heaven
Are we certain that the one who leads the church in worship is really far ahead of the one who prepares the church by shoveling its sidewalks and setting up its chairs? That the one who labors in the pulpit is doing more important work than the one who labors in her prayer closet?

Let every Christian assert his high birth by his high bearing. —Theodore Cuyler

I do not share many guest articles but do like to do so occasionally, especially when the circumstances warrant it. This is one of those times. This article was written by Kristyn Getty as a means of explaining the context of a new hymn, “God of Every Grace.” I trust you’ll enjoy the hymn even more as you learn when and why it was written.

Sixteen years ago we were invited to sing “In Christ Alone” at the opening of the Dove Awards. We had recently moved to the US, and although we were very honored to participate, our hearts were heavy. My beautiful cousin Lindsay had just passed away from cancer. We were very much singing for our family. I struggled to sing.
Earlier that day I remember turning to 1 Corinthians 15 and reading of the hope of the resurrection. I was struck by Paul’s concluding charge: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Cor 15:58).
There are many things we experience in this life that will only find their resolution, their answer, their ultimate comfort when we are home with the Lord. What do we do when we have to continue to walk with the question, with the ache, with the limp? We know the Lord will “work all things to the good of those who love him,” but what if that good is not known in this lifetime? There are some pains I don’t yet know and can’t imagine.
The new hymn “God of Every Grace” began with a melody and some lyrics from our friend Bryan Fowler. The song spoke of walking through struggle with faith. It spoke of God as the God of every grace, calling us to see even our trials as somehow, mysteriously, serving God’s good purposes according to his good plans. It resonated with us.
Shortly after the school shooting in Nashville in March 2023, I was sitting outside with my daughters while they were playing, wrestling with this tragedy and the ongoing weight of it. I also pondered the memory of my cousin and the pain her family continues to carry. Many of the ideas and lyrics for this hymn began to form in my head that day.
Alongside Bryan and Matt Boswell, we continued to shape the verses and add the chorus over a couple of months. We felt strongly about keeping the lyric directed to the Lord, personal and honest. The line “all your children home together” was a very moving thought for me as a mother—that desire for a family to be all together again. Only in Christ is this possible.
We are all tempted at different times to give up, to give in, to let our circumstances steal our hope. This hymn is a prayer for his daily strength, for regular recalling of our hope, for faith to keep following, for rest in the truth that he knows, he sees, he counts the tears. We hope you can sing this prayer with us.
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” -1 Peter 5:10-11
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Here are the lyrics:
O let not this world of sorrowsSteal my only hope awayFor the power of Your gospelShines within this jar of clayIn affliction You bring wisdomThat my comforts can displaceHow my true and greatest treasureIs in You, the God of grace
Now to the God of every graceWho counts my tears, who holds my daysI sing through sorrows, sing with faithO praise the God of every grace
Weary with the weight I carryGive me wings of faith to riseFor You know each grief that lingersThrough the watches of the nightSurely You have borne our sufferingsAt the cross took up our painAnd You lead us on to gloryAs we trust You, God of grace
Now to the God of every graceWho counts my tears, who holds my daysI sing through sorrows, sing with faithO praise the God of every grace
There’s a dawning hope before usThat I know is soon to breakAs I wait upon Your mercyWhich will swallow every acheCries of joy and songs of victoryWhen we enter heaven’s gatesAll Your children home togetherAll with You, the God of grace
Now to the God of every graceWho counts my tears, who holds my daysI sing through sorrows, sing with faithO praise the God of every grace
Now to the God of every graceWho counts my tears, who holds my daysI sing through sorrows, sing with faithO praise the God of every graceO praise the God of every graceO praise the God of every grace
© 2023 Getty Music Publishing (BMI) / Messenger Hymns (BMI) – adm. at MusicServices.com // Be Essential Songs (BMI) / BryanFowlerSongs (BMI) – adm. at EssentialMusicPublishing.com

There’s an old story that tells of a missionary—a missionary who became convinced the Lord had called him to go to a foreign land. Obviously, he first needed some training, and as part of that, he collected books about the country and he studied them very closely. He began to learn its language and to speak it; to learn its customs and to adopt them as his own; to learn about its dress and to wear those clothes; to learn about its values and to exemplify them in his life.

Something interesting happened: The more he behaved like a citizen of his future home, the more out-of-step he became with his current home. The people around him would sometimes mock him for acting like the citizen of one country even while he lived in another. But he held firm and over time he became more and more like a citizen of the land he knew God had called him to.
Then, finally, the time came when his preparation was complete and he was ready to depart. When he arrived in that new country and took up his work there, he found that all his preparation had been worth it. His transition was easy and his ministry was effective. Why? Because he was already living like a citizen of his new land.
Just like that missionary, we are to live in this world as citizens of another—to live according to the customs and values of a different kingdom. And just like that missionary, this means we will sometimes be out-of-step with the people around us—we’ll act differently and live differently, we’ll hold different values and set different goals. And what will that do? That will, at times, make people angry. It will at times make them hate us and even persecute us.
Such persecution should not take us by surprise. Jesus, after all, made it clear that this would be part of the cost of following him. He expressed this at the very beginning of his teaching ministry when, in the opening words of his Sermon on the Mount, he said “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). Even as he laid out the very basics of kingdom living, he expressed that it would bring about persecution. Then, at the very end of his public ministry, he said something similar when he told his disciples, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20).
He makes it very clear that those who follow Jesus will be persecuted like Jesus. Those who imitate Jesus will suffer like Jesus. If we live as citizens of the kingdom of heaven—which is to say, if we live like Jesus—we will be out-of-step with the values of the kingdom of this world and people will hate us for it.
It’s worth asking why. Why will living as a Christian bring about persecution? It’s not like we are harming anyone with the way we live. It’s not like we are demanding that others live as Christians. We are just going about our business while living quiet, humble lives. Perhaps an illustration can help.
A few years ago one of my neighbors drank a bit too much and the next day he had a pretty bad hangover. He must have been lying in a darkened room with an icepack on his head outside our kids and the neighbor kids were laughing and playing and enjoying some innocent childish fun. They were being good kids and having a good time. But suddenly the neighbor threw open his window and screamed “Make those kids be quiet!” His condition made their joy painful to him; it made their expressions of happiness intolerable. And something like that happens when we become Christians and begin to live out God’s true design for humanity before other people. Our holiness confronts their sinfulness. They see Christians living as God truly made us to live, living in the joy of the Lord—and it challenges them; it confronts them; it convicts them. And many respond with hatred, with persecution.
This persecution can be shown in attitude and insults; or it can be shown in imprisonment and death. But either way: it is the normal course of normal Christianity that we suffer for our faith. Citizens of the kingdom of heaven should expect to face persecution.
But Jesus does more than tell us that we should expect face persecution. He also tells us how we should face it. But since this article has already gone on plenty long, I’ll turn to that subject in a couple of days.